How the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Helps Teachers
Teach the Literature They Love to Teach AND Quell the Censors
Through the literature we teach, we want our students to explore the hard topics about people and life.
We need to be prepared, though, to defend the texts we teach.
Watch the Video on NCTE’s 25-Year History of Promoting “The Students’ Right to Read”
Get the Resources You Need to Prevent Censorship
http://www.ncte.org/action/anti-censorship
Why and How We Choose the Literature We Teach?
“I learned that choosing the right novel or other reading material to meet the needs and interests of the
students as well as the course objectives can become a monumental task, but a satisfying one.” –Ray
Lawson, “Teaching: The Life,” SLATE Newsletter, March 2006.
1. Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of
themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to
respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among
these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
2. Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding
of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.
3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts.
They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of
word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual
features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
--from NCTE/IRA Standards for the English Language Arts
“We as teachers recognize that regardless of literary merit, it is important to choose books which meet
the objectives of our courses.”—Dennis Boatman, Betti Gregg, Nicole Haueter, Chris Kenoyer, Mary
Nett, Scott Parker, Madge Peterson, Twila Wood in “Sample Presentation to the Book Reconsideration
Committee in Defense of Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” from NCTE CD Rationales
for Challenged Books, Volume 2.
Make sure your school has a policy for the adoption of instructional materials: See
NCTE’s Guidelines for the Selection of Materials in English Language Arts Classrooms at
http://www.ncte.org/about/issues/censorship/five/116515.htm
What to Do When You Need Help
Make sure your school has a policy for handling challenges to instructional materials:
See NCTE’s The Students’ Right to Read at
http://www.ncte.org/about/over/positions/category/cens/107616.htm
Contact NCTE through the NCTE Intellectual Freedom Center:
http://www.ncte.org/about/issues/censorship
Make sure you have a rationale for teaching the literature you have chosen. Use NCTE’s
sample rationales, instructions for writing a rationale, and CDs (Rationales for Challenged
Books) as resources: http://www.ncte.org/about/issues/censorship/five/108603.htm
Millie Davis, Director, NCTE Intellectual Freedom Center
NCTE, 1111 W. Kenyon Rd., Urbana, IL 61801; 217-278-3634
mdavis@ncte.org
How the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Helps Teachers
Teach the Literature They Love to Teach AND Quell the Censors
Through the literature we teach, we want our students to explore the hard topics about people and life.
We need to be prepared, though, to defend the texts we teach.
Use the following form for writing your own rationale.
Write Your Own Rationale Form
Like the rationales on the NCTE CDs, your own rationales will serve you best if they contain the following information.
Grade Level and Audience
Plot Summary
Theoretical Support and Redeeming Values
How the Work Ties into the Curriculum and Standards
Literary Qualities and Summary of Reviews
Sensitive Subjects in the Text/Possible Objections
How Sensitive Subjects and Possible Objections Will Be Handled in Class
Teaching Objectives
Teaching Methods
Assignments
Alternative Texts to This One
References
Millie Davis, Director, NCTE Intellectual Freedom Center
NCTE, 1111 W. Kenyon Rd., Urbana, IL 61801; 217-278-3634
mdavis@ncte.org